Welcome to the Cardboard Carnival, an annual extravaganza created by Increase Miller Elementary’s fourth graders for the school’s kindergarteners out of spent paper towel rolls, cardboard boxes of all sizes and plenty of tape,
The students worked with Library Media Specialist Juli Hoffman to plan, design and build classic carnival games with their own special sauce. As they conceptualized and created challenges including tic-TRASH-toe, Ski-Flight-Jackpot! and Minecraft Wheel, they also built capacities in teamwork, pre-design, building, and trial and error. Librarian Hoffman’s emphasis on the design process was featured in the May 30 edition of The Recorder, “Stem Education: Lessons from the teachers.”
Hoffman set the stage for creativity by reading “Mr. Ferris and His Wheel" with the fourth graders and watching a short documentary of a young boy who builds his own carnival. The students took it from there.
As the kindergarteners entered the Cardboard Carnival—an entire wing filled with dozens of games—some students couldn’t wait to play, while others took more time to feel comfortable. The fourth graders showed another of their superpowers: kindness. “Would you like to play?” “Let’s do it together.” “Great job!”
